Grand Designs: What it takes to transform a home
When electrician Mitch Pryor appeared on reality renovation TV show Grand Designs: TransformationsHe had an advantage that many home remodelers did not have.
He had significant experience on construction sites and both he and his wife Corinne had already bought, renovated and sold two properties before transforming an unloved 1950s bungalow into a luxury multi-storey home in Melbourne’s east.
“I grew up watching shows like this Backyard Raid … and they would show you how to do things and inspire you to do things of your own,” he said. “And now, just like he said, he said, then: buy this light fixture.”
Interest in home renovations is increasing due to high real estate prices. But experts warn that many reality renovation shows make the process of renovating a home easier than it is, with carefully laid out timelines, sponsored products and a ready-made army of contractors.
“People are obsessed with the construction process,” Pryor said. “But I want to see the logic of why people do certain things. I’ve learned a lot from seeing other people’s mistakes.”
The Pryor family bought their Mitcham home for $1.1 million in September 2023 and moved into the finished home on Australia Day in 2025.
Their journey was showcased as one of two renewal storylines in the season’s opening episode. Grand Designs: Transformations in January this year.
The Pryors’ home is currently listed with a price guide of $2.8 million to $2.98 million and hit the market in March, just over a year after the family moved in.
Why did they decide to sell?
“Honestly, we love doing this so much that we want to make it a business,” Pryor said. “I just wanted to legitimize it and get into real estate development… but with a twist.”
Mitch plans to use the capital from the sale of the house to start Pryor State as a business.
“We will build beautiful family homes,” he said. “And hopefully we’ll move closer to town and benefit from the sale of the house.”
Fremantle Australia executive producer Brooke Bayvel, who produces the show for the ABC, said homes would likely sell soon after an episode aired. Great Designs tries to avoid.
“This is not in the spirit of the show,” he said. “It was definitely said that they loved the house and that it was their forever home.”
A spokesman for the ABC said the organization was not aware that the house was for sale or of any plans to sell it after the program aired.
The episode focused on how Mitch salvaged quality materials from his workspaces and Facebook Marketplace to create a luxurious feel on what was ultimately a $700,000 budget.
“They were basically begging, borrowing, stealing and upcycling anything they could to make things work for them,” Bayvel said.
Their manager Michael Steenhuis, of Barry Plant Blackburn, said more than 400 people attended the pre-market open event, which was promoted on Pryors’ Instagram.
Master Builders Victoria data shows a 21.4 per cent increase in the number of loans taken out for renovations in Victoria in 2025, and CEO Michaela Lihou said this showed strong demand for home improvement projects.
But he thought rising borrowing and material costs, as well as tougher lending conditions, would reduce investment this year.
“Many builders, particularly small and medium-sized businesses operating on fixed-price contracts, are facing rising costs that they can no longer afford,” he said.
Different Great DesignsPryors already works with construction brands to highlight the products they use, which Bayvel says actively avoids featuring any products a self-builder might have obtained through a brand deal.
Other renewal programs include supplier partnerships as part of the structure.
But Jason Charles, of Charles Bros Building Contractors, said promotional supply deals and trading going on 24 hours a day could give an unrealistic idea to those watching refurbishment content.
“What they don’t understand is that all the plaster was donated, all the faucet items were donated, all the tiles were donated,” he said. “Almost only $20,000 in labor.”
Charles worked as a builder Block for two seasons, and for the other two seasons, she serves as an on-screen ambassador for HiPages, an online service that connects homeowners with businesses. Block The owner of this imprint is published on Nine.
He thinks people need to be realistic about their own access and resources and realize that much of what they see on screen is done by professionals.
“You know, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, definitely don’t handle these things on your own,” he said. “[Get] “Right work equals right work.”
Greville Pabst, president of the WBP Group, was the buyer’s attorney and judge. Block Over the course of 10 years, we have agreed that renovations can often be bigger than owners first imagined.
“This is an expensive exercise and once you start there is often no going back,” he said.
Rising construction costs, material supply chain issues and rising interest rates also make it riskier to renovate with the hope of big profits, he said.
“There was a time when you could do that and make pretty good money selling houses, but I think that window has closed.”
